Brooklyn Car Accident Lawyer

After a serious car accident, many crash victims wonder whether they can negotiate with an insurance company without the help of an experienced lawyer. The truth is: You can, but you shouldn’t. Accident victims who dutifully file insurance claims are often injured further when they run into insurance adjustors who offer meager settlements or nothing at all. It is important to recognize that insurance companies have teams of attorneys working to protect them, and you should, too. At Zlotolow & Associates, our skilled Brooklyn car accident lawyer has more than 20 years of experience successfully securing compensation for injured victims and their families. We work quickly to fully document responsibility for the car accident and demand full and fair compensation for you.

Let our experienced attorneys deal with insurers while you focus on your life and recovery. Schedule a free legal consultation about your car accident claim today. We pursue claims on a contingency-fee-basis, without a charge until we recover compensation for you.

Zlotolow & Associates | Understanding What Caused Your Brooklyn Car Accident

After a car accident, a police investigation may indicate who is at fault, but in many cases, it will leave the question unanswered. Often an independent investigation is necessary to determine what really happened in a car accident and who should be held legally responsible. Even then, you’ll need an experienced Brooklyn car accident lawyer working on your behalf to argue that you deserve to be compensated for your injuries and other losses.

Car crashes occur in many ways and for many reasons. Here are some of the most common types of motor vehicle accidents we see in and around Brooklyn, and how they happen:

Rear-end collisions

Rear-end accidents are the most common type of motor vehicle accident. Rear-end collisions are also the most frequent cause of whiplash, a serious neck injury caused by the car that is hit lurching forward and the victim’s neck suddenly stretching backward and then snapping back into place. Quite simply, “rear-enders” happen because one car fails to stop before hitting the rear of the vehicle ahead of it.

Typical causes of rear-end collisions:

• Driving too fast to slow or stop in time — speeding or “too fast for conditions”
• Not paying attention — distracted driving
• Reacting too slowly due to impairment — drunk, drugged, or fatigued (“drowsy”) driving

Head-on collisions

A head-on or “frontal collision” is one in which the fronts of colliding vehicles meet squarely or with significant overlap. The impact of a head-on collision increases exponentially with the speed of each vehicle. These crashes are most likely to be fatal. A head-on collision at a speed that does not cause death is sure to cause catastrophic injury. A head-on collision most often happens because a car has crossed the centerline or turned into the path of another vehicle. Sometimes, a driver has traveled in the wrong direction on a one-way road.

Typical causes of head-on collisions:

• “Drifting” left of the centerline — impairment (alcohol, drugs, or fatigue) or inattention/distraction
• Loss of control in a curve — speeding, impairment, or inexperience (young or novice drivers)
• Over-correcting from an error, such as drifting, running off of the road, and crossing into oncoming traffic — inexperience, impairment, or sudden realization (inattention/distraction)
• Wrong-way driving — significant impairment

Side-impact collisions

A side-impact collision may also be described as a broadside, right-angle, or T-bone crash. They occur when the front or corner of one vehicle slams into the side of another, sometimes in a right-angle or T-bone configuration. Side-impact crashes usually happen in an intersection where lanes of traffic cross or as a vehicle turns. These are dangerous accidents because vehicles have less space along their sides to absorb the collision’s impact than they do in the front or rear.

Typical causes of side-impact crashes:

• One driver runs a red light or a stop sign — aggressive driving, impaired driving, or inattention / distracted driving
• Failure to look adequately before turning or proceeding against traffic — impairment or inattention / distracted driving

Sideswipe accidents

A “sideswipe” occurs when the sides of two vehicles come into contact in a collision. If one vehicle in a sideswipe is larger or running significantly faster than the other, it may force the impacted vehicle off the road or into other traffic, obstacles, etc., and cause additional or worse damage and injury.

Typical causes of side-impact crashes:

• Improper lane change or turn — aggressive or reckless driving
• “Drifting” across lanes — impairment (alcohol, drugs, or fatigue) or inattention/distraction
• Loss of control in a curve — speeding, impairment, inexperience (young or novice drivers)
• Over-correcting and crossing into another lane — inexperience, the sudden realization of an error (inattention/distraction), or impairment

Rollover accidents

A vehicle that rolls over in an accident is sometimes said to have “tripped,” meaning the vehicle rolled after colliding with another vehicle, the shoulder of the road, a curb, etc. An “untripped” rollover accident typically occurs because the driver has lost control of the vehicle at excessive speed.

Typical causes of rollover accidents:

• Excessively strong impact or loss of control in a curve or sharp incline — speeding
• Vehicle’s high center of gravity (e.g., commercial trucks and SUVs) — vehicle design

As you can see, auto accidents are usually caused by driver error, negligence, or recklessness. In some cases, there may be a defect in the vehicle itself, such as design that makes rollover accidents more likely, or faulty automotive parts or systems, like defective brakes, tires, ignition systems, airbags, etc., that cause a driver to lose control and crash.

In other cases, there may be a problem with the roadway that contributed to an accident, such as faulty maintenance or design, or a work zone that was set up incorrectly and contributed to a crash.

Our Brooklyn car accident lawyer can determine what happened in the wreck that left you or your loved one injured. With solid evidence of how and why you were injured, and a calculation of your losses, we can press aggressively for full compensation to you.

Contact Zlotolow & Associates Today

If someone has caused an auto accident that has left you or a loved one badly injured, you have a right to compensation for your losses. Contact our personal injury attorneys in Brooklyn, N.Y. today for dedicated legal assistance.